We'll Try
by Crazy Jersey Girl
Summary: Bella's first experiences as a vampire, mostly fluff, lemon in first, fourth, and eighth chapters
1. The First Night

**Disclaimers**: All Twilight characters owned by Stephenie Meyer, this is not meant to make a profit.

Zomara is property of Robert Jordan, from the Wheel of Time series. Zomara are mind-reading servants, with the memory span of about 5 seconds or so. Doesn't really fit, but I love the name, lol.

The song is I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie.

_We'll Try_

As she walked into Edward's room, Bella saw everything through new eyes. This was it. They were finally married, and her one demand would soon be fulfilled. She could feel her stomach churning, but it was just out of nerves. Edward looked at her and grinned, aware of her situation from her racing heartbeat.

"Are you sure, Bella? Would you rather wait until after the change? It'll only be in three days' time," Edward asked, concern now tinting his eyes.

"Of course," Bella said, stubbornly and a bit annoyed, as they had gone over this multiple times. She was ready, she WANTED this, it was just so… well… embarrassing!

"Well then…" Edward murmured, chuckling at her sudden blush. He slowly walked over to Bella and then kissed her with as much reserve. She closed her eyes and gave in to him. His hands soon had other ideas. They roamed her body, playing with the lace on the wedding dress, tangling in her hair, massaging her body wherever they could. Bella's heart was beating so fast and hard she was afraid the entire town of Forks could hear it. The back of her knees hit the ridiculous (although she was glad for it now) bed, and Bella realized he had been slowly backing her to it. Bella's eyes opened and involuntarily widened.

Edward sighed then, still with a smile on his glorious face. "What am I going to do with you, Bella?" He returned to kissing her, pushing her torso down onto the bed and gently resting his weight on top of her, feeling her heart reel and her breath heave even faster. He moved to nuzzle and kiss her throat, collarbone, and shoulders, which were bare because of her strapless dress. Bella was gasping for breath, already almost fainting from the sensations. "Breathe," he laughed. He pulled back, and gently, but so fast that he was a blur, shifted the rest of her body onto the bed and a pillow under her head. Bella thought she felt a tugging along her back, but she couldn't be sure. She noticed that the jacket to his suit was gone, thrown somewhere in the room.

Cuddling close to her, Edward stared deeply into her eyes. "Bella, your heart will stop at this rate before I can even come close to biting you." Bella couldn't focus on his words, his cool breath on her face distracting her and making her dizzy. She could never become used to the sweet scent of his breath.

Edward held her close for a few moments, waiting for her heart and breath to calm so he could be sure she would not die of a heart attack or pass out from a lack of oxygen. Bella, once relaxed, reached up and pulled Edward back for another kiss. While he tangled his hands in her hair and froze her lips with his own, Bella unbuttoned his shirt and pulled his chest tight against her. She was glad for the icy chill that went through her and made her spine tingle. She suddenly found that she was hot, not cold, and gripping to him with strength she didn't think she had.

Edward's shirt was quickly thrown onto the floor, and he began to tug at the sides of Bella's dress. Bella's eyes widened when she found that the dress was coming away from her body. The tugging at her back when Edward shifted her must have been him pulling the zipper down.

Edward's eyes looked hungry as he looked over her nearly-naked body. She was wearing skimpy, sexy lingerie, which included a thong, something he was not expecting to see on Bella. He drank in the sight of her, a quiet, sexual growl coming from his throat. His eyes returned to her face when he felt her hands tugging at the button on his pants. Bella was, of course, blushing a bright red, but determined to undo the button and zipper.

Edward laughed quietly, but let Bella continue to struggle and fight with his pants. She finally won her battle, grinning as she did so. As the zipper came undone, Edward disappeared in a blur of speed. He quickly removed the pants, and they too were now strewn across the room. Bella gasped when he unexpectedly was on top of her, his cold body touching every naked inch of hers, his lips at her throat again. He moved with anxious speed now, growling sexually and hungrily, his hands tracing every inch of her body that was not already covered by his. Bella felt his hands under her thighs, gasping again when she felt him spread her legs just enough for his own legs to settle down between her thighs.

Bella felt her bra and thong get pulled almost roughly from her body, and found herself reaching for Edward's boxers. Both of their breathing was now ragged, and, Bella was sure, audible to everyone else in the house. Bella cursed vampire hearing over and over in her head. She blushed even more furiously as she thought about that, but would not be stopped by something so simple. Not an entire coven of "non-vegetarian" vampires who hadn't eaten in two months bursting in the door could stop her now.

Bella softly cried out as Edward took her nipple in his mouth and began suckling, partly from the shivers it gave her all over her body, and partly because it broke her train of thought and took her by surprise. She arched her back to press herself to him, and cried out louder as she felt his fingers in a spot she didn't entirely expect.

Edward released her nipple from his mouth in a gasp of his own. "It's… so _hot_… so _wet_..." The difference between his own cold, hard skin felt incredible. He moaned and pressed his face into her stomach, moving his fingers faster and harder than before. The growls he seemed to be constantly emitting were growing louder.

The cold from Edward and the heat of her own body seemed to be battling inside Bella. She was sweating from head to foot, yet was almost constantly shivering. She found that she was enjoying both sensations very much, and didn't wish either to stop. Her nerves were buzzing from the feeling coming from Edward's fingers, and she would occasionally give an unconscious twitch or spasm because of it. Bella began to rock her hips, meeting his fingers to create more of a sensation. She had closed her eyes and was now tossing her head as waves of feeling crashed over her.

Edward shifted again, spreading her legs a little farther and holding himself up on his arms. "Are you… ready, Bella?" he asked between labored breaths. She nodded fiercely, unable to speak because of her own erratic breathing. He positioned himself, then lowered himself so she could feel his body against her own, but have no weight on her. "Bite me if it hurts and you need to, Bella," he suggested, smiling his crooked smile at the irony.

She looked up at him with love and trust, giving herself entirely to him.

Edward thrust, and she took him up on his offer. Bella bit down into the side of his neck to avoid crying out, fearing speaking to the rest of the Cullen family after such an embarrassment as that. The pain did not last long, the cold that was him instantly driving the pain away by almost numbing her. It took Bella a minute to realize that Edward had not moved after his initial thrust, and turned more attention to him.

Bella saw that he was completely still, the growls now coming from him less from sexual desires and more from hunger. She froze, realizing what had made him like this, instantly ashamed of herself for not thinking of this before. Blood. He calmed himself enough after a minute to stop growling and move again.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. I didn't think… the blood…Are you ok?"

"It's more than that, Bella," he began with a wry twist to his mouth. "The scent of your breath, of your throat… it has been so much more appealing with your arousal added to the scent. It's almost too much to bear, I can't go on." He was looking away, unable to meet Bella's gaze. He started to pull away, feeling guilty and ashamed that they would be unable to share the best and most intimate feelings while Bella remained human.

"Wait," Bella gasped before he could move very far. "What if you weren't so close to my throat, my breath? What if we had less contact? Would that be any better?"

He thought about it for a moment, and then a cruel grin took over his face. "I promised I'd try, so we'll keep trying." Acting on impulse, he quickly bent and ran his tongue through her wet folds. She drew a sharp breath as her hips twitched from the sudden feeling. Looking into her eyes, looking for her reaction, he licked her several more times, pausing when she jumped or made a sound, his tongue darting quickly. "That takes care of the blood," he muttered, again with a wry smile.

"Are you sure that's… oh!... safe, Edward?" Bella gasped when she found the breath.

"What else would you suggest?" He asked as he pulled away.

"Well…" Bella began, but cut off, too embarrassed to say more. She was far too innocent to make herself say any of the things she was thinking. The tingling feeling she was experiencing in her lower region was getting too intense and demanding for her to ignore. It was almost an ache, now. "How about we go for a little change?" she asked, grinning at a thought as she pushed Edward to his back. Edward looked up at her with slightly widened eyes, interest and want smoldering in his eyes.

Bella pushed herself up and onto her knees. She moved to swing a leg over and straddle Edward, but her balance failed her. Edward reached up and steadied her, laughing. "That's my Bella," he murmured, pulling her down for a kiss. But she pushed herself back, and, leaning back so as to keep her breath as far away as possible, rode him. Tensions rose again fast, and they were soon lost in each other's rhythm.

"Grip the bed, Edward," Bella said, breathless, when she noticed him trying not to reach out and break her. Grateful for her suggestion, he spread his arms wide and grasped the bed, focusing on keeping his hands there.

"Hold still, Bella. Don't move." With that, he increased their pace to an inhuman rate. Bella's eyes were as wide as they would go, her breath coming in jagged gasps. She couldn't believe how fast he was moving, although she knew how fast he could run. The friction caused by his speed was absolutely incredible. She couldn't hold back noise this time, and didn't even bother to try. After a very short time, Bella came hard, with a scream.

Immediately, Edward stopped and let both of them catch their breath. Bella thought she heard a slight noise in the hallway, but she wasn't sure that she could trust herself with anything at that moment. "Everything's fine," he quietly breathed to Bella, smiling.

"Hell of a lot better than fine," Bella growled back playfully, with a smile of her own. Then she heard a booming laugh from the hallway; Emmett. A blush blazed to life on her face. Edward had been talking to Emmett.

Laughing along with his brother, Edward pulled Bella gently down on top of him and kissed her. "Yes, a hell of a lot better," he whispered in her ear. Then they both heard more laughter from downstairs as Emmett related the story to the rest of the family. Bella's face blushed even brighter.

They lay like that, cuddled together, until Bella started to shiver from cold. Edward moved her and covered her with the sheet and blanket to keep her warm, but then lay on top of them to hold her. "What are you thinking, feeling?" Edward asked her.

"I'm just so happy… husband," Bella replied with a tired smile. "I'm actually quite tired, too," she added with a yawn and a faint blush. "It's been a _long_ day."

"Go to sleep, then," he said with a soft smile. "Wife," he added with another smile. He began to sing her to sleep with her lullaby, and she knew she could never remain awake at that moment.

When she awoke the next morning, Bella opened her eyes and smiled to find Edward still so close to her in his big bed. He smiled back.

"Good morning, wife," he whispered, already nuzzling at her neck.

"Good morning, husband," she whispered back, still not fully awake.

They held each other for a while, happy to be together, their eternity together to begin very soon. Then Bella's stomach growled so loudly they both had to laugh. "Let's get you some breakfast," Edward laughed.

After dressing, they went down to the kitchen. Edward got Bella a bowl of cereal, the only form of food available from the few times that Edward had "kidnapped" her. He switched on the radio for some background music, coming on in the middle of a song. It was only a man singing, with a guitar as quiet harmony.

_You and me, we've seen everything to see_

_From Bangkok to Calgary, and the soles of your shoes_

_Are all worn down: the time for sleep is now_

_But it's nothing to cry about_

'_Cause we'll hold each other soon_

_In the blackest of rooms_

_If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied_

_And illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs_

_If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks_

_Then I'll follow you into the dark_

_Then I'll follow you into the dark_

Edward crashed into Bella, giving her the tightest hug he would trust himself with. Bella was crying, having realized that this song had been their story, still was their story, until she had completed the change, which would happen that very morning. And like the song, it might fade into their past after an endless number of years.

Edward tilted Bella's face back and kissed her, a comforting kiss. They kissed for a short while, until Bella's stomach reminded them why they went downstairs in the first place.

"Alright, alright," Bella granted to her stomach's complaining, wiping the tears from her face. "Cereal," she stated, moving towards the table to eat. Edward sat close next to her.

"Bella… if we could have a baby, would you want to put off the change? To have one?"

Shocked by the question, she dropped her spoon, halfway to her mouth. She stared at him for a few seconds before answering.

"No."

He chuckled, yet still studied her with his eyes. "A one word answer?"

"Yes," she answered, straight to the point.

He chuckled again, and then asked, "Why?" He was still studying her.

"With my luck, our child would come home from its first day of high school in love with and engaged to a zomara." He laughed, knowing this would probably be true.

When she finished eating, they sought out Carlisle to supervise and make sure that nothing went wrong when Edward bit Bella. They went back up to Edward's room so she could lie on his bed for the three day period, gathering the rest of the Cullens as a crowd on the way. Everyone except Edward and Carlisle had been hunting last night while Bella slept, so there was no worry that anyone would lose control. After she had lain down, Edward kissed Bella softly.

"Be strong, Bella," said Esme reassuringly, at the same time that Alice said "We'll always be nearby, Bella," with a warm smile.

"Thank you," Bella whispered, tears in her eyes for her new loving family. Carlisle then gave her a large dose of morphine, telling Edward to wait a few more moments for it to take effect. Edward spent those last moments breathing in her scent from her hair, her throat, her wrists. He was going to enjoy the bouquet while he still had it. Then Carlisle told him it was time, and Edward bit into her wrist, enjoying the wine whose bouquet he would never smell again. He bit both of her wrists and her throat, Bella voicing her complaints each time. She felt additional pain near her ankles, but the fire running throughout her body made her unable, and uncaring, to look and see if he had also bitten her there.

The three days passed excruciatingly slowly for everyone in the Cullen household. Bella remained awake for every moment of the change, feeling the fire consume every artery, vein, and blood vessel in her body. Someone was always in the room with her, and the remaining members of the Cullen family stayed within the house. Edward never left her side, feeling the pain anew as he watched Bella suffer. Carlisle would occasionally inject more morphine into her system, slightly numbing the pain for a short amount of time. Her heart steadily slowed, yet did not completely stop until the final moment at the end of the third day. In that final moment, Bella's heart beat its last, labored beat, she exhaled her final breath, and she died there on the bed.

And then her burgundy eyes opened to a new life. Bella was a vampire.

Her eyes opened to the entire family, yet again, in the room with her. But this time, smiles graced their faces, along with pride at the newest member of the family. Suddenly she was pulled away from the bed and thrown into the air almost to the ceiling.

"About time!" boomed Emmett with a laugh. Bella would have retaliated, or at least yelled at Emmett for this, but she was too shocked at finding that she could follow every move that was made by the Cullens. She was especially shocked when she followed Edward tackle Emmett out from underneath her with her eyes. She hit the floor and heard a thump, yet didn't feel anything. She could only laugh.

Edward gave up on Emmett and embraced Bella in a fierce hug. Finally able to let go of control, he held her in such a strong grasp that her body would have been utterly crushed, were she human. She held him back, gripping him even stronger than he was gripping her. He tried to laugh.

"Bella, I can't breathe," he gasped with a grin. Everyone laughed at Bella's newfound strength.

Alice snatched Bella's hand when she loosened her grip on Edward and began to drag her towards the door. "Come on, Bella! There's so much we have to do that you've missed out on!"

"Not a chance," Edward said, regaining Bella in another fierce hug. "I've been in Bella withdrawal for three days," Edward reminded Alice when she gave him a questioning glance. Everyone left the room then, to give the newlyweds a few moments to themselves after such a long period of pain and waiting. They kissed, slowly and lovingly at first, a reunion kiss, but then with more passion. Without any set rules to follow anymore, they could simply forget control and have their way. Soon, however, they stopped to spend time with the rest of the family.

"Alice was right, Bella, you _have_ been missing a lot."

"Then let's go make up for lost time," Bella replied, already smiling. Everything was clearer, more focused, more defined. Bella found that everything had a distinct scent that a human wouldn't have been able to pick up. As they went downstairs, she saw that the TV was on. The people on the news station appeared to be moving very slowly, but she realized that they were moving at a regular, yet human, speed. She hadn't even realized that she had been moving with the incredible speed and grace that the other Cullens took for granted.

"What should we do first?" Edward mused. Bella thought for a second, and then a grin bloomed across her face. She walked straight to Emmett.

"Hey, Emmett… Wanna arm wrestle?" Edward's laugh could almost be heard from the end of their long driveway.

**A/N: I'm not sure about continuing the story, I don't really know which way it would go… I'll try and come up with a plot line, and if that goes well I'll continue :D The song part was just my little indulgence lol, I love that song and I think it fits Edward perfectly, at least through Twilight and New Moon.**

**I'm sorry to say it, but updates will probably not come very often :( So if you're watching and waiting, I'm making no quick promises.**


	2. The Scent of Blood

Yay! Chapter 2 of an original one-shot! People talked me into it, what can I say.

**Disclaimer**: All Twilight characters owned by Stephenie Meyer.

_The Scent of Blood_

Hands and eyes locked, muscles straining, table groaning from the pressure, Bella and Emmett were having the arm-wrestling match of a thousand lifetimes. No one could resist watching, grinning, impatient to see who the winner would be. Bella had been losing at first, but as she became more accustomed to her new strength, Emmett's arm started to take the plunge. Everyone, excluding Emmett, laughed when his arm finally came to a rest on the table.

"That was just… incredible," Edward congratulated Bella with a kiss and a laugh. Esme was sighing, looking at the new dents in the table left from their elbows, but with a wry grin. Emmett stalked into the living room, pouting. Rosalie followed him, trying to keep back a grin.

"Come ooooooooooon, Bella, we REALLY have to go do things!" Alice complained, unable to hold back her excitement anymore.

"Wait a minute, Alice," Carlisle cautioned. "Bella, does your throat ache? Does it feel dry?"

"Not really," Bella replied after thinking for a few minutes. "I feel fine." Carlisle walked to the front door, and opened it only a crack. With a slight breeze, the scents and smells from the outside hit Bella like a sack of bricks. The scent of the ever present rain, of the trees and grass, and something more compelling that Bella didn't recognize at first. With the last scent, Bella's throat instantaneously ached and felt extremely dry, just as Carlisle said it would. "Okay, NOW it aches."

Carlisle smiled knowingly, closing the door again. "You can smell the blood of animals from the woods nearby. There hasn't been anything alive in our house since the graduation party except for you, and obviously, you are quite accustomed to your own scent. The other scents have faded away by now. If you were to go anywhere without feeding first, you could lose control. That wouldn't be too bad if there were only animals nearby, but if, say, a hiker were nearby… You understand the importance of hunting before doing anything outside of our home."

Alice sighed deeply, disappointed once again that they would have to wait before being able to do all the fun things she had planned, yet understanding of the importance of hunting.

Bella's brow scrunched together suddenly, her mouth twisting down into a frown. "Bella?" Edward asked worriedly. "Is everything ok?"

"No…" she trailed off. "I think…" Her face paled. "I think I'm going to throw up," she admitted sheepishly, hurrying to the bathroom.

Edward followed her to make sure that she was ok. "Ugh, cereal," he commented when she was through. "I guess you shouldn't have eaten right before you made the change."

"_That's _still affecting me now?" she asked, incredulous.

"Well, it _was_," Edward replied with a twist to his mouth.

"So _that's _what happens when a vampire eats human food… I should never have dared you to eat that pizza a long time ago…" she muttered.

He shrugged. "Sometimes it has to be done to keep up this charade. It doesn't happen often, but if you spend enough elapsed time near a human…" Bella quickly washed her mouth out.

Edward, Carlisle, and Bella went to hunt soon after, at around twelve o'clock. They went through the garage and straight into Edward's Volvo so that Bella would be less likely to get hit with the strong scent before they were at a safe enough distance from any humanity. Bella caught sight of her own eyes in the side view mirror of the car before getting in, gasping with surprise at the brilliant color of her eyes. She knew that they would be red, but was still shocked when she saw them for the first time. She hadn't even glimpsed them earlier in the bathroom mirror.

"I want a rematch in one year," Emmett called from the living room.

"No way!" Bella complained. "I want a perfect record!" She could just hear Emmett's grumbling coming from the other room, but he sounded like he would give up on the chance of a rematch.

They drove to a remote location along the mountain range, to a difficult area where not many people would hike because of unfriendly terrain. The nearby animals would be big game, yet herbivores. She should start with easy prey, without even the chance of being hurt. They told her, before any of the car doors were opened when they pulled off the shoulder of the rarely-used road, that for her first hunting trip she should simply let her instincts take control and follow them wherever they led her. Edward or Carlisle could redirect Bella if she began heading somewhere that people would be more likely to be found.

As soon as the car door opened, the blood-scent hit her even harder than it had before, more concentrated and with what she could only describe as more flavors added in. The different flavors represented different species of animal, each with their own individual scent and flavor.

She took Edward and Carlisle's advice, speeding off, not even bothering to shut the car door behind her. The bloodlust she felt throughout her entire body and constricting her throat was too overpowering to resist. She was vaguely aware of Edward and Carlisle shadowing her, far enough back to not get in her way, but close enough to be able to race ahead of her and stop her if need be. One of them occasionally raced off after a glance at the other to hunt for themselves, but they were generally both watching over Bella.

As when she first awoke, Bella found that everything was crystal clear. She could hear the quiet rain falling on leaves high above, the almost silent whisper of the wind. She could hear and almost sense the quiet, slight movement of animals, and the blood that pulsed through their veins.

She fed on large deer, quickly yet harshly ending their lives, simply biting their throats and not releasing that hold as she had previously been advised. Their lives would end faster with multiple bite wounds, yet less blood would be wasted from one simple bite. The leftover bodies could simply be left where they fell, as other carnivores and scavengers would take care of the remaining meat.

Bella though on what Alice had said when she told her about a vampire's venom while being pursued by James so long ago. _As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal - much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Jasper, and I, who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey._ She decided that Alice was entirely right. Their artillery was ridiculously inescapable. Without effort, Bella could track down any animal she wanted silently, and be upon it so fast that it didn't know what had killed it.

Near sunset, the ache in Bella's throat was almost entirely gone, her thirst sated, and they decided she would be as safe as she could be so early in her new un-life. For the first few months of this new existence, vampires were almost never safe for anything that still had a pulse.

On the way to the car, Bella smelled a more powerful aroma. They had taken a different path then the one they took into the forest and mountain range.

"Human," Edward told her when he saw a new hunger alight in her eyes. Edward and Carlisle each took one of her arms, and slowly and carefully led her towards the scent. "The people are far enough away, so we'll bring you just a little bit closer," Edward told her, tapping his temple and reminding her of his built-in radar. "Don't worry, everyone will be safe."

They guided her to the edge of a copse where she could see a small cabin near the center. She could see someone inside the cabin through a curtained window, and couldn't help but sniff at the air for the scent which her body craved. She caught it on a faint breeze.

The scent made her entire body feel alive again, re-awakening her instincts, tightening her muscles, making her growl quietly. She felt Edward and Carlisle's hands tighten on her arms, as well, and stopped breathing to calm herself.

"This is what we fight every day, Bella. At a much closer range, and much more concentrated than what you can smell now," Carlisle informed her.

"We'll help you, of course, first only giving you this long range "contact" to get used to the smell. As you get better, you can start moving closer and closer. You'll learn to fight what you are, and listen to your own conscience," Edward said. "Let's go back home," he added with a smile.

As they drove into the garage, Alice was in the doorway leading into the house, jumping up and down from excitement. "PLEASE, BELLA? Let's go!!!" she shrieked excitedly.

"Alright, alright!" Bella replied. Carlisle nodded his approval, now that Bella had hunted and seemed well prepared for whatever Alice wanted to put her through. Alice wouldn't bring Bella to do something dangerous, as she would have seen anything in a vision.

"Keep a close watch, Alice, Edward," Carlisle warned them. "No matter what you may have seen in a vision, Alice, don't let anything happen. Also keep in mind that Edward and Bella are supposed to be on their honeymoon, so don't let anyone who might know about their wedding see them even from a far distance."

"I'll keep a constant watch to make sure nothing changes," Alice assured him, as Edward said, "If I even _think_ anyone is nearby, we'll disappear A.S.A.P."

**A/N. Really short, I know, and still pretty generic. I'm still trying to figure out where this is going to go, I'm open to suggestions :D**


	3. Short Term Memory

**Disclaimer**: Do I have to be pained so? Not mine… ::mope::

**A/N: Thanks for the support everyone :D I have a vague plot as of right now, but I might just keep this a series of short fluff stories about vampiric life if I can't make it more than vague. And of course I'll add lemons (listens for the chorus of "yay!"s). I'm still open to suggestions, if you think something would be really cool.**

_Short Term Memory_**  
**

Alice dragged both Edward and Bella out of the house, both of them smiling behind her back at her impatience. "Alice, we can walk on our own, you know," Bella complained.

"Only if you promise to keep up with me," Alice whined.

"Of course!" Bella answered, somewhat eager herself. She had waited a long time for this existence; she wanted to do everything that she now could do.

They all raced off, Bella enjoying her new speed once again. She had run while hunting, but now she ran for the pleasure of running. The darkness of night added new elements to her awareness. She could still see almost as clearly as if it were day. Edward and Alice's eyes had a faint glow to them, reflecting what little light there was. They both seemed shocked that her own eyes were glowing almost brightly; the red of her eyes must have picked up and reflected more light than the Cullens thought her eyes would. She thought with a smile that she was a Cullen now, in name and in her now-bizarre existence.

She found that she didn't have as much experience running as she thought she did. Several times she had to suddenly swerve to avoid trees before she crashed into them and knocked them down. The area around and moving away from the Cullens' home was far more wooded than the mountainous hunting range. She could swear she could hear Edward laughing softly, and mutter something about no balance to Alice.

The now familiar scent of blood was ever present, but Bella affected not to notice it. She had fed well enough that the scent was no longer so enticing to her. But now they were closer to civilization. She could also faintly smell rubber; skid marks from tires on a road.

Alice and Edward were turning the relaxing run into an intense race, increasing the pace rapidly. Alice was soon pushing her limits, though, while Edward could keep increasing speed. Bella kept pace with Edward, thanks to the human blood still in her system keeping her faster and stronger. Edward and Alice were trying to trip each other, laughing as the incredible speed made everything out of control. Bella was paying attention to their antics, and was surprised when she tripped and crashed face first into a tree.

The tree groaned loudly before cracking and falling to the ground. Edward and Alice couldn't help but laugh. It looked like Bella's clumsiness would continue for eternity. Emmett would be very happy.

Bella felt at her cheek where she first made contact with the rough bark. It felt… sharp, somehow. Alice retrieved a mirror from somewhere on her person and gave it to Bella. Interested in what she would see, Bella looked at the spot and gasped. Her skin looked cracked and peeled, coming to hard edges and points. Small dribbles of blood made their way down her cheek, blood from when she was human and from hunting.

Almost immediately, her skin started to tingle slightly. She watched as the hard flesh knit itself back together quickly and perfectly. Now that she was thinking of it, she looked at the back of her hand where James had bit her. The scar from his venom remained, standing out against her skin as obviously as ever. Only she couldn't seem to remember _exactly_ how it got there. Something stirred in her mind, a wisp of a memory about a dance studio, but it no longer seemed important.

Bella looked at Edward, about to ask him to tell her what had happened, but his face had already become more serious. "Let's go, people are curious as to why trees are falling down for no reason in the middle of the night," he told them, a slight smile gracing his face near the end. Edward directed them away from the fallen tree so that they wouldn't meet up with any humans by accident.

As they were leading her away, Bella caught scent of human blood. Her head whipped around to face back towards the tree, her nostrils flaring. She growled quietly, and felt both Edward and Alice's hands on her arms pulling her back. She struggled, fighting against their hands to go back. Alice's arms came up around her shoulders from behind, locking her in their grip. Edward's hands left her, calling home on his cell phone for someone else to come out just in case.

"Let go of me!" Bella complained, her instincts taking over. Alice's arms sprang from her body, and Bella's shock overcame her instincts. She turned around to look at Alice's complacent, almost blank face, and Edward's appalled face that Alice let her go. Just then Alice seemed to realize what she had done, but couldn't seem to make herself reach out and grab Bella again. Edward threw the phone at Alice, and took hold of Bella himself, pulling her back before she could come out of her reverie.

Bella was now growling and struggling too hard to form coherent words. The people were drawing ever closer, their scent becoming stronger and stronger with each stride. Edward kept pulling her back, murmuring to her, trying to keep her quiet and calm her down while Alice talked to someone back home. Soon Emmett was there, practically dragging Bella back towards the house. Once they got her inside, Bella made herself take a few breaths to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry… I should have just kept calm and left while they were still far enough away…"

"It's alright Bella, we're here to help you learn," comforted Esme.

"There were a lot of people on the way Bella, the scent was pretty concentrated. It's very hard to have any control at all at first," Alice informed her.

"Alice, what were you _doing?_" Edward exclaimed. "Why did you let her go?" Everyone turned to look at Alice, waiting to hear the whole story.

"I… don't know… Bella told me to let her go, and it was like I didn't know any better than to just do as she said." Alice looked apologetic and disappointed in herself.

"I felt that way earlier…" Emmett mused. "When she told me she didn't want a rematch at arm wrestling. It was as if I didn't care anymore."

"I think we may have found Bella's gift," Carlisle stated, a little awed. "A compulsion, of sorts."

"Well, she had complete control of her own mind before, I guess she can control all of ours now too," Jasper commented.

"I guess it's still too early to do fun things, then," Alice sighed. "Until she has more resistance to blood, or we find a way to not obey her, we're stuck with boring things…"

Edward laughed. "In time, Alice, in time…"

For about a month, Bella and Edward prepared to go to college at Dartmouth, building Bella's self-control and ability to resist blood. They had bought almost black contacts for her to hide the brilliant burgundy color. She could now get remarkably close to humans, but only if she'd very recently fed.

She kept in contact with Charlie, but it remained slightly awkward as she kept making excuses to not be able to see him. Even phone conversations were kept short, as Charlie might notice the slight changes in her voice. Her voice had become silkier and irresistible when she changed.

Alice was quite dejected as her time in close proximity with Bella was coming to an end for a full school year soon. They still had not been able to do anything Alice labeled "fun," but Bella's gift had proven a little inopportune at times. A simple "go take a long walk off a short pier, Emmett," almost turned into a disaster. It was something Emmett would never be allowed to forget for the rest of eternity.

**A few days before Edward and Bella leave for Dartmouth**

The night had been clear, not a cloud in the sky to block the light coming from the moon down to the earth. The next morning dawned bright and cheerful.

"Bella, let's go to the meadow," Edward said cheerfully. They hadn't visited the meadow since the day before their wedding, and it had rained every day since Bella first became a vampire.

She simply stared for a moment, trying to remember. "The meadow…" Edward tilted her face to look at him, perplexed. Just then she remembered a bright place, the first place she had seen him in sunlight. "That's a good idea!" she said excitedly, smiling. He smiled back, and took her hand to lead her from the house.

They ran to the meadow, both of them eager to see how Bella would look with the tiny facets of light shining from her skin. They both stepped out from the shade of the forest into the sunlight together, holding hands. Bella looked at her skin, fascinated by her sparkling skin. At every point where it seemed a small piece of glitter was stuck in her skin, she could feel points of concentrated warmth from the sun's rays.

She turned to Edward, and he was smiling at her, knowing what she was thinking, how she was feeling. He had been through this, too. He bent to kiss her, sharing this moment as the first time they visited this meadow.

They lay in the meadow for all of the morning, simply enjoying each other's presence. Free of humanity, they could ignore the world around them and relax for some time before they would need to return home, fighting the battle against bloodlust on the way home.

Edward finally stiffened, able to hear someone approaching in his mind, because Bella couldn't hear or smell anything coming. But he didn't warn her; whatever was coming must have been alright. He wouldn't let her stay if it could become dangerous for the incoming being.

"Bella?" came a male voice from the shadow of the forest behind her. She supported herself on her elbow, and twisted to look at whoever had come. His face was hopeful, yet sad at seeing her. Or… maybe it was at seeing her with Edward?

"I'm sorry… Do I know you?" Bella asked. The man was familiar, but she couldn't place him in her memory. He didn't smell right…

The hope on the man's face shattered. He could only stare at her, his jaw dropped, pain suffusing his face. Bella felt Edward's fingers under her chin, and her face was turned to look at him.

"You don't remember? You've lost memory that fast?" he queried, concerned. "Bella… that's Jacob."

At his name, memory crashed back into her head. Everything that had happened; her sun in her darkness, the Quileute pack, all of her memories about Jake. If she could have cried, she would have been bawling. She stood up awkwardly, and ran to hug Jacob, sobbing. He crushed her to his chest, practically crying himself. He didn't seem like he was crying for the same reason.

"Ugh, you smell _terrible_."

"You too, Jacob. Gosh, you _reek_," she laughed and cried at the same time.

"What have you done, bloodsucker," he growled at Edward. He was shaking from head to foot. "My Bella is gone."

"Jake, I'm right here," Bella replied, looking up at him. Edward had moved to stand close. "It's still me."

"No, Bella. You didn't remember me. He's your entire world now. You're not the Bella I knew," he told her harshly. "Goodbye," he whispered, some of the anger fading from his features. And then he left. He never looked back.

They spent the rest of the day in the meadow, quieted now. A blanket of clouds had come and shut out the sunlight. Typical Forks weather had returned. They lost track of time, and finally returned home at night.

Upon entering the elegant house, no one could be immediately seen, a rare occasion in a house full of eight people.

"Where is everyone?" Bella asked.

"Bella, it's night. Where do you expect them to be?"

"Oh… right…" Bella muttered, embarrassed. Edward grinned.

"Come on, let's go up to our room."

**A/N: Poor Jake :( Yes, it hurt to write that.**

**Next will be a lemon :D Hurray!**


	4. Beastly Bella

**A/N: I'm sorry I did that to Jacob ; ; I really didn't want to do it, poor Jacob gets all the pain in everyone's stories and everything, but it had to be done.**

**Finally, a plot will come into play, and not just description… well, lemon first. YAY!**

**Disclaimer:** All characters owned by Stephenie Meyer. This is not meant to make a profit.

_Beastly Bella  
_

Trying not to listen to the other things going on in the house, Bella and Edward made their way up to his room, now belonging to both of them. He moved to hold her and cuddle her to his chest, but she turned and started walking toward the couch, having not seen him. She seemed ignorant and disinterested, despite his earlier comment on retreating to their room upon entrance to the house.

"Bella, it has been a month," he complained. She looked at him, confused, before recognition dawned on her face with embarrassment.

"So you see why I wanted that before I made the change?" she asked of him.

"Yes, but I think it's been long enough. Bella… I'm _horny_. _Really horny_."

She giggled at his use of the word, but she would have been brightly blushing if she could. They had kissed and shared some intimate moments after Bella's change, but they hadn't had sex since their wedding night. An unfortunate breeze would usually come, bringing with it the scent of blood, and Bella would become distracted. In control, yet distracted all the same.

She walked over to him, her fingers playing across his chest, turning her face up and kissing him. She could feel him smile against her lips, eager to be with her. He kissed her back, love and desire controlling him now. "Do you have any idea how hard it is when you live with six people who don't sleep and you can hear their every thought? How hard it is when you can't have the things they think about with the person you love?" he somehow managed to get out between kisses, an incredible feat with the severe lack of time between each kiss.

His kisses were growing hungry, fast, and rougher. Bella just let Edward have his way, thinking everything out methodically, mechanically. Suddenly it hit, as if her body had finally taken over when her mind failed, and she was immediately animated. She practically slapped her hands to the sides of his face with her urgency, holding his face tight to hers. She hooked her leg around his hips, jerking her own hips closer to his body.

He growled, biting at her lips, exploring her mouth with his tongue. Bella was surprised with what was happening, but was gladdened with the thought that they didn't have to be careful anymore. She experimented with him, tasting, feeling what was impossible before. She realized that she was growling herself, quietly, but in the same sexual way that he did.

She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his hips and holding herself there. Her hands were all over his face, neck, chest, and back. His hands were examining her torso, tickling her sides, squeezing her breasts. She gasped when he tore her shirt away from her body, but doubled her efforts in driving him mad with her body. Bella absolutely shredded his shirt in getting it away from him.

Edward was in absolute heaven. There was no more caution; there was no more fear. He could finally let go and experience the best thing the world had to offer with the one you love. He could finally have some hardcore sex with Bella. **(Heh heh heh…)**

Bella let go of her leg's grasp around her waist, to give herself more leverage. She writhed her entire body against his, making sure everything brushed at one point or another. They still had not stopped kissing.

Bella knew that Edward would be going absolutely crazy at this point. It was the first time they had had this much direct contact in such a crazed manner, even though they had already had sex. They were stumbling all over the room, vaguely attempting to head in the direction of the bed, but not really paying attention. After bumping into the wall for what seemed the eighth time, they both laughed quietly and just walked, hurriedly, to the bed.

Bella made it look like she was going to sit on the bed, but at the last second grabbed Edward, threw him onto his stomach on the bed, and leaped on his back. She pressed her breasts, still clothed in her bra, into his back, and kissed him all over his neck and throat. She playfully bit him, light enough so as not to break the skin, shaking her head and growling when he grinned wickedly at her sideways. "You're a ferocious beast," he whispered, growling, still with that wicked, crooked grin. "But I'd bet I'm fiercer," he snarled back playfully.

And with that she was the one underneath him. He had somehow shifted her so that she was the one on her stomach, having her throat bitten from behind. His hands massaged all over her body, the weight of his bare chest lying on her back. He unhooked her bra and reached around her perfectly rounded hips to undo her pants. He pumped his hips a few times, moving against her thighs and butt.

Bella couldn't help but gasp and giggle at his actions. She was arching her back against his chest, and shifting her own hips to further excite Edward. It was working. He pushed himself off of Bella, stripping her of her pants on the way down. Now on her back, she reached forward and removed his, much more graceful this time than her battle with his pants on their wedding night.

Bella kicked her way to the center of the giant bed. She wriggled around, moving her body in sexual ways and emitting low growls of desire, her limbs squirming.

Edward followed with little encouragement needed. He climbed over her body, pressing himself down on her, feeling every inch of her, kissing her again. With no need to really breathe, they lay together like that, kissing, for quite a long time. Bella began to arch her back soon, however, pressing her breasts and hips against Edward in a way that he couldn't tolerate for very much longer.

Removing both of their underwear, Edward shifted quickly to between Bella's thighs. His breath was heaving, and the added scent made him unable to wait any longer. His positioned himself and entered, noticing the apparent difference between now and their wedding night. She was no longer so hot, obviously, and she was only slightly moist, from her own venom. But she was _much _more durable.

Bella let out a hiss at the new experience. It was quite different from their wedding night, which at this point had faded into a vague recollection. But she still remembered this part of the experience, the best part. She thrust her hips and wrapped her legs around him to draw him in.

He held her face in his hands, bringing Bella close for another kiss. He could hold her close this time, their faces close, with no worry as to break her frail human flesh and bones or drink of her blood. Edward began with the intense pace he had set last time, yet making it even faster. Bella strained to meet him at every thrust, and succeeded almost every time.

Bella couldn't believe how long they spent in that position. Finally, they both found themselves achieving release at the same moment, growling and breathing extraordinarily hard for creatures that didn't need air at all.

After about five minutes of just lying there intertwined together, Bella turned to look at the clock. She was shocked to realize that they had been in his room for about an hour. She couldn't believe that they had spent that long doing so few things. Her face would have been purple had she been able to blush.

Edward gave her her favorite crooked smile. He kissed her again, and she could tell that he was very pleased with himself. She had to laugh as he bent to nuzzle her throat. She kissed his hair once while he worked his way down her chest. He made his way back up and kissed her lips passionately.

"That was amazing," he murmured, kissing her face. "So good." She smiled back at him in response. "And we can be so close now."

"Mmm," she agreed, kissing his face all over, just as he was doing to her face. "I'm just glad we don't have to sleep," she said, pulling back with a grin. He grinned back, before shifting down to suckle her nipples.

While his mind was occupied, Bella flipped him onto his back and pinned him there. She seized his arms over his head by his elbows with one hand, using the other hand to support herself upright. She bared her teeth at him in a smile, sitting on his stomach. Shifting her hips side to side, forward and back against his stomach, she slowly licked her lips, watching his eyes on her face.

If he really wanted to, Edward could break out of her grip. She was only using one hand to hold him down. But he really _didn't _want to. He loved his Bella so much. She could arouse him so quickly, so efficiently, he never wanted this to end. He bent his knees so that his feet would lay flat against the bed, and pumped his hips, wanting more.

Bella laid down on top of him, moving her hips further down and continuing her teasing. She held his elbows with both hands now, making her grasp inescapable. She was growling softly in his ear, her entire body moving with her hips' rhythm. Edward was running his tongue quickly up and down her throat, growling and moaning.

Finally Bella could take it no longer. Her body ached for him. She loosed her hold on his arms, pushing herself up with her hands. But Edward moved around her, to be behind and above her. He entered her from behind.

Edward bent over with her, letting his body touch hers in every way possible. He still wanted to be very close to her. He rode her, thrusting hard, his face buried in her hair. He breathed of her scent deeply, his arm wrapped around her body to rub and finger her pubic area. They came much sooner this time, much more comfortable with each other than before.

Bella sighed after they rolled over onto their sides. Edward nibbled at her neck and shoulders. "So… how many more hours is it before it's um… proper… to be seen around the house?"

Edward laughed for an answer, kissing her again. "Hmm… Beastly Bella…" he murmured.

**A/N: Huzzah! I hope that was good, I haven't been in much of a lemon-writing mood as of late, but I wrote it anyway! I've been thinking about like, five other fanfics I want to write ::sigh::… So I may be churning some of them out as well as continuing this one, it all depends on how much homework I can afford to not do :D I was so happy at being able to write Edward saying I'm horny… ::sigh again::**


	5. College Beginnings

**A/N: Plot time! Yay!**

**Disclaimer: **All Twilight characters owned by Stephenie Meyer. This is not meant to make a profit.

_College Beginnings_

In the morning, after a considerable six hours, Edward left Bella with Alice to speak to Carlisle. Alice was trying to coax some last minute "fun" out of her before they left for college. Edward was worried about Bella's apparent lack of memory.

"Is she really supposed to lose her memory so fast? I don't remember it happening so fast with Rosalie and Emmett, but you, Esme, and I never really knew them before the change, either," Edward asked him after telling him what had happened.

"It's not supposed to happen that fast, no… but everyone's different, and it might happen at different rates for different people. And her power affects the mind… Maybe her control of others has forced her memories to be removed. We could try showing her things from her past to see if she recognizes them," Carlisle suggested.

"I think we should. We should know just how much she remembers and how much she's lost," he murmured somberly.

"Bella," Carlisle called out in a normal tone, "could you come here for a moment? We want to show you something." He pulled out a photo album as he said this, one of many albums of pictures from when Bella was human. Many of the pictures were the ones she had taken herself with her eighteenth birthday present camera.

"Alright," Bella conceded, bouncing down the stairs and meeting them at the couch. They opened the album and searched through the album, showing her the pictures of her past. She recognized herself, Edward, and the rest of the Cullens and their home, but she had maintained constant contact with them through the change and after.

She was confused by pictures of her friends, not even recognizing most of them when told their names. Memories of Charlie were vague, and most of her old house as if she had never lived there. She knew Charlie mostly by his voice; all contact with him had been kept through the phone for his own safety.

"I can't believe this," Edward murmured. "You _really_ don't remember?"

"No…" Bella replied, looking at something she had written in caption in the album. "Who's Renée?" she asked suddenly. There was complete silence throughout the entire house, as everyone would be able to hear her words.

"Oh, Bella," Esme sobbed, coming into the room and throwing her arms around Bella. "She's your mother, Bella. Your own mother."

Bella was shocked and sobbing now as well. After being comforted for a minute on the couch and calming down a bit, Bella brought every album up to her and Edward's room. She looked at every single photo, and begged Edward to explain everything to her that she couldn't remember, committing everything to memory by sight and name.

**A few days later**

Bella and Edward drove all the way to Dartmouth, staying in the car to keep Bella away from any human blood scents. They made the trip in three days, not stopping except to refill the gas tank at regular intervals, and then Edward taking care of everything and making sure that no one approached the car. Alice would be watching to make sure of safety, only a phone call away should she see something coming.

They were to rent an apartment that was as remote as possible while not too far away from the school, within walking distance to keep up the human charade. Bella wouldn't actually attend her classes. A doctor's note, supplied by Carlisle, proved that she was too sick to physically be in class. She would be sent work in the mail from the school regularly, or the work would be given to Edward to bring home to her. Edward would be attending night classes.

They would hunt on the weekends; a suitable location would be relatively close. They could go out and entertain themselves at night during the time that Edward didn't need to be at classes. This way, most people would be asleep, and Edward would be right next to her should Bella attempt to assault someone. And as always, Alice would be watching.

The first few months of school worked out perfectly fine. The teachers seemed skeptical at Bella's "illness," but Bella was sure that the Cullen wing of the library would not only cover her late application, but the doubts of her health as well. Edward monitored the thoughts of the teachers and any administration he could, watching for suspicion or a possible surprise visit.

It was a Friday night, and Edward was on his way to class. There were two campuses, and he had to go to the campus that was farther away. He was smiling to himself; he was very happy with how everything was working out, everyone remained perfectly safe and Bella was studying in college. He was probably moving a little too fast for what would be humanly acceptable, but he didn't much care. It was dark out, and no one would be able to tell at that range or with such a lack of light. Besides, he was almost at the school.

His cell phone buzzed. He picked up with a simple "Yes?" after reading the screen. And almost immediately dropped the phone when his hand went limp from Alice's voice passing on her message as fast as possible. He didn't bother to pick the phone back up off the ground.

**In a class at the other campus**

Craig's class was almost finished. He had never been happier in his life. Classes just sucked in every way possible. He had never liked them, only doing them now to get the highest wages he possibly could later. "Yes…" he whispered when the teacher called the class to a close.

"Oh, shoot. Craig, will you do a favor for me?" the teacher called to him.

Ugh. What now?

"I forgot to send Miss Isabella Cullen's work out. Would you mind dropping it at her apartment?"

Ooh. "Sure," Craig acquiesced, brightening. He knew that this girl was supposed to be too sick to be in public, on some special quarantine or such, but maybe she was hot. He walked quickly out of the classroom and towards the apartment. He was glad that this was at least the closer campus to the apartment.

Craig looked back, his spine slightly tingling as if by instinct when he was almost there. A man who looked like a bronze-haired god in casual designer clothes was running perhaps a little too fast to be believed along the street. He was almost too far away to be seen clearly, but it looked like he was looking directly at Craig and shaking his head no, but Craig just shrugged and kept going. As he approached the apartment, he thought he saw movement at the window. When he turned his head to look, there was nothing there. He walked to the door, which was slightly ajar, as if it had been open but then was pushed as if to be closed. That push had not entirely closed the door.

"NO!" he could hear from behind him. He turned back to see the bronze-god, now much closer than before. He glared suspiciously at the man, but continued to the door. He pressed on the door lightly, enough to open it.

"Isabella?" he called inside. "Isabella Cullen?"

"In here," came a quiet reply from another room.

"I'm here to bring you some work," Craig said, a little creeped out by the strange tone of her voice. Her voice was almost fearful itself. Fearful, and dangerous.

"Yes… I know you are. Why don't you come here? You can shut the door, if you wish…" His mind blanked. The next thing his mind registered were his hands on the door, pushing it closed, when the bronze-god came in the door, breaking his strange trance.

"No, Bella! Hold your breath, take control," he commanded.

"It's so hard," a voice wailed from behind Craig. He turned around to look into a girl's bright red eyes, her teeth bared.

"HOLY SHIT!" was the first thing to come from Craig's mouth. Both of their head snapped around to look at him. He threw the door the rest of the way open and bolted, a slight wind blowing in after him, bringing his scent once again into the house. He heard loud, vicious growling from behind him. Couldn't someone deliver homework in peace anymore?

"No!" he heard from behind himself yet again, and he couldn't help but look back. The bronze-haired god had the red-eyed girl by her arms, holding her back.

Craig would have kept running, but the sidewalk greeted his face and the air his toes. He attempted to stand up, shaking.

"Stay there!" the girl's voice rang out. Craig's mind blanked, and he couldn't move. He didn't _want_ to move. He remained crouched on his hands and knees, not budging an inch.

The bronze-haired god sighed. "Now what? Bella, you need to calm down. And bring him into the house," he added wryly. "We need to stop this before it can really start."

Craig had been registering his voice, but he couldn't really focus on the meanings of the words. He couldn't focus on anything except staying where he was.

"Come here," the girl's quiet voice told him. His mind, still in its blank state, reacted to this. He mechanically stood up and walked back to the apartment. Bronze-haired god and this "Bella" had followed him, Bella retained as if she wasn't to be trusted entirely. _Trusted with what?, _Craig wanted an answer for.

He walked back into the building, his mind beginning to reel. _Why?_ He didn't _want_ to come back here! This was starting to scare the hell out of him. His heart was beating faster and faster.

He heard faint growling from behind him. "Bella, this needs to stop escalating. It's getting too much for you to bear anymore."

"Calm down," Bella commanded, and Craig found his heart slowing as his mind settled down into blank surrender. Then the phone rang, and the bronze-haired one picked it up. He seemed to be reassuring someone on the other line that everything was fine.

"Landlord," he explained after hanging up. "Some people heard a commotion… he's going to come check it out even though I told him everything is ok," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose between his eyes. Bronze-god walked over to Craig. "I'm Edward Cullen, and that's my wife Bella. I understand that you're here to drop off some work for her. Why don't you bring it this way?" he suggested, leading him quickly to a different room.

Craig stared around in consternation. How did this Edward know why he was here? And they were _married? _Edward's mouth twisted into a small smile. Then he looked toward the door as if someone were approaching. "Bella, hurry."

Bella had gone to another room and come back. Her clothes were changed, and her eyes were dark. How did everything happen so fast?

Edward was almost amused from how confused this man was. Almost. But the situation was too serious for any amusement. He had seen too much, and now the landlord had to be assured. He looked to Bella, who had taken on her "sick" façade and put contacts in.

"You are a close friend, almost family. You came for the weekend to assist me," she told the boy, and watched to make sure his mind would Accept her command. It did, of course. "Lie," she added to Edward, watching him Accept as well.

"You don't have to do that," he muttered.

"Just making sure," she said, grinning at him. Edward looked back at the door, and someone knocked. Bella grabbed Craig around the waist and pulled him into the living room area. She sat him down next to her on the couch, and coughed a few times as Edward opened the door, making it sound like a permanent cough.

The landlord made his way into the house as if some sort of giant cat would leap out at him from behind the TV. He had apparently been reported that it was growling, perhaps roaring. Edward laughed as if to show that this was ridiculous. Who could have possibly heard growling in an apartment building?

Edward toured him throughout the apartment, inviting him to examine whatever he felt was necessary. When they got to the living room, he introduced Craig and gave their excuse for his presence. He internally smiled at Craig's shock that Edward knew his name. Thankfully, Craig did play along. He could have found a way to work around Bella's vague command.

Edward could tell that Bella was having a lot of trouble. She had a tissue held up to her face, a common trick they used to emphasize her sickness as well as to help filter out the blood scent. But she was also breathing raggedly. She was trying her hardest to not attack then and there.

With both of the humans in the room, and the door closed, the scent of blood was filling the room. She would have stopped breathing, but that wouldn't exactly help to further their cause. Craig was once again becoming anxious, and his increased heartbeat wasn't helping at all.

But her uneven breathing convinced the landlord of their "family friend" story. He thought that she had grown worse in her illness, and decided to leave the three of them alone to aid her. The second he was out the door, Bella ran to the other side of the house, not bothering to mask her speed.

Edward looked to Craig, musing. "Hmm… what shall we do with you, now?" The phone rang again.

**A/N: So that was my vague plotline :D I could use some suggestions as to where this can go… I only have a little bit more vague-ness to work with, so I will need help soon :X I really have no idea if Dartmouth has more than one campus or not, but work with me here lol**

**Voy a anunciar mis cuentos en español, tambi****én. ¡Digame que lo quieres!  
**


	6. Family? Or Foe?

**A/N: Short chapter, I know, but I've been getting to sleep at about 1 a.m. every night this week due to homework. Best I can really do working on that. Next one will probably be short as well, but please realize that I'm working on two other stories and working on translating this one in to Spanish as well. Taking a lot of time…**

**Disclaimer**: All Twilight Characters owned by Stephenie Meyer. This is not meant to make a profit.

_Family? Or Foe?_

Edward picked up the apartment's phone receiver. It was Alice. He explained that Craig was alright, how everything had turned out fine. Then he became a little angry and frustrated, almost exasperated as he listened to Alice speak. "This day couldn't get any better," he half muttered, half sighed after hanging up. "I don't really know what to do with you, but listen carefully."

Craig was instantly nervous again. His brow furrowed as he listened to Edward. "Firstly, be glad that you're still alive. She can command me just as easily as she can command you, and if she hadn't the control that she does, you'd be dead a long time ago. She could have commanded you to stay and me to release her, or keep watch, or hide the evidence of your remains." Craig gulped. "And we both would have obeyed her. But she didn't.

"Unexpected and perhaps unwanted visitors are on the way. Even though your life was spared, you may still not live for very long. They will be here in two days. We also have some family on the way, and they will arrive tomorrow," he added, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "Now, the question is do you stay or do you leave," he mused.

"I think he stays," Bella said, coming into the room and making Craig jump.

"Did you _honestly_ hear all of that!?!" Craig demanded of her. Edward and Bella laughed softly, but mostly ignored him.

"It will be easier if they decide to talk about him and not immediately hunt him down." Craig's eyes widened at this.

"I think its time that I know what the hell is going on around here!"

"Where do you live?" Bella simply asked, again ignoring him. "We'll go and pick up some things for you to stay here."

Craig found himself giving them his dorm room number on campus before he could think not to. But he shared his room with another; his roommate would be there and wondering where he was by now. It was very late.

"Ah, yes. About that." Edward said, confusing Craig. Nothing else had been said… But Edward opened the front door and headed outside. He came back quickly holding a cell phone.

"Call. Tell him that you're staying with Edward and he's going to pick things up from your dorm for you," Bella commanded. _Damn. They're good._ Edward now had a smug smile as if he was hearing Craig's thoughts. _Yeah right. He's probably dreaming of some action movie where he gets to hold some sort of hostage_. Edward chuckled softly.

Craig called his roommate, and both Edward and Bella went to retrieve some of his things. They bolted the door and made sure that there was no open view into the apartment. They reassured Craig that they would return soon, and he was told to remain quiet. His mind raced the moment they left, unable to become afraid by command.

He _needed_ to know what the hell was going on. He was being held _captive _by strangers with red eyes who had snarled and growled at him fiercer than he'd ever heard in his life for doing nothing. Maybe his roommate would understand when he saw them. Maybe he would tell someone. Anyone.

He wondered if he would be killed, murdered. He searched the apartments for implements that they could possibly use to kill him, but he couldn't find anything. But what he did find might possibly be worse.

They had no food. They had nothing to drink. There was no heating turned on, they had none of the essentials for life. How did they live!?!_ A__t least there's a freaking bathroom_, he thought.

The apartment was somewhat unexpectedly large. They must have quite a bit of money. They were far away from their home in Washington, as he had heard they lived, they were married to each other, they had their own large apartment, and they apparently quite freely spoke of killing?! They must have high connections to cover things up for them.

Could there be a possible mafia connection? Possible with the talk of family and unexpected visitors with a foul note. This Alice Edward had spoken to… was she part of their family? Or was she one of the unexpected visitors?

**Bella and Edward**

Edward had brought Bella with him simply so that the poor human would not be left alone with her. She would probably kill him if left with his scent so close for too long. She would not actually go into the campus or dorm room with him, but she would keep herself far enough away from humans.

He didn't need to explain to Bella who the unexpected visitors were. They were expected, really, but not for a _very _long time. Any time would be fine for them now, but it wouldn't be fine for the poor boy. Edward just hoped that he could be kept alive.

Bella found a dark alley to hide in while Edward retrieved clothes, a tooth brush, and other essentials from the dorm room. He sneaked food and drinks for Craig, grimacing at human food, when Craig's roommate wasn't looking. He wanted to sigh when the human thought about asking him some random questions. This would take longer than he really wanted. He just hoped that Bella would be alright on her own.

When he finally left after telling the roommate a multitude of insignificant things, Bella was in the same alley. The one person who had just begun to approach the alley had been scared off when Bella growled like some feral animal from the darkness. Bella and Edward quickly headed home. Edward could hear his family's thoughts; they must have made record time in racing across the country, even though they must have set out when Alice had her first vision. Edward looked at his phone clock, nothing that it was indeed tomorrow.

Edward was forced to go to a grocery store and pick up extra provisions for Craig. The little he was able to snatch from the dorm room would not last very long, and he would need some other things that Edward had been unable to take from the dorm room.

**Craig, forty-five minutes after Bella and Edward left**

He was bored. That was the one word to describe his entire being right at that moment. If not for all the commands he had been given, he probably would have run screaming as fast as he could away from this building.

He heard two cars out front, and idly wondered what time it was. He checked the clock, and saw that it was about 1:30 a.m. Night had gone much faster than he was comfortable with.

And then the front door knob was turning. He would have absolutely panicked had he not been given the command to remain calm so long ago. However, he was alert and the adrenaline was running through his system. But what _really _scared him was when the bolt clicked open.

They hadn't left in a car, never mind two. And now two cars come and the bolt opens?

He felt calm instantly overcome him. And the door opened.

The first to come in was a blonde man, and behind him a pixie-like girl. Four more followed, the most gorgeous blonde beauty he'd ever seen, a giant muscular man, a man who seemed to be some sort of leader or mentor, and a motherly woman. They all had the same golden eyes of Edward.

Craig backed up, stumbling and shaking, afraid once again for his life now that he could see these intruders. _Friend or foe? Friend or foe?_, he continued to recite again and again in his mind.

"It's all right," the first man assured him. He introduced all of them, saying that they were all Cullens. Calmness came with his words, and the girl named Alice touched Jasper's arm and nodded when he turned slightly to look at her peripherally.

"Where have Edward and Bella gone?" Carlisle asked slowly.

"My dorm room. Picking things up for me," he answered shortly, warily.

"Five minutes," Alice commented, and they seemed to understand her perfectly. "We'll just wait for them," she directed at Craig.

Then they all settled themselves comfortably in, making themselves at home. Jasper kept a distance between himself and Craig, going to the complete other side of the room. They seemed to be inconspicuously studying the apartment as if they had never been there.

"So…" Craig began after some time, but stopped when everyone looked at him. He cleared his throat self-consciously. "You came all the way here from Washington state because of _me?_ Ugh," he said disgustedly when they nodded. "What is going on, and why are total strangers trying to kill me?" he confronted them.

"Just wait, dear," Esme said. "Only five minutes."

"Two and thirty-seven seconds," Alice amended. The rest of the time they sat in absolute silence. "Three… two… one…" The door opened. It was Edward and Bella, of course.

They entered with a smile. "It's so good to see you all again," Bella greeted. Craig watched them have a family reunion open-mouthed.

"Charlie sends his love," Esme told Bella while hugging her. "We called and told him we would be visiting you before we left. He misses you a lot," she added.

"Can I PLEASE know what's going on around here?!?" Craig finally burst out. Everyone turned to Bella.

"You will not talk to _anyone_ about this. If anyone finds out any of this, then you will be killed. No ifs, ands, or buts. Keep calm, as your heart rate will _not_ have a good effect on us. Well, on me."

And they explained to him what they were. They explained to him the importance of their secrecy and why Bella was really staying at home. They told him everything, even answered his questions, such as why did Bella have red eyes as opposed to golden.

"…And as we said before, there are unexpected visitors on their way. They will not be nearly so kind to you as we have. But maybe we can spare your life. If we're very convincing, and can prove Bella's power to them. We only have one day to work together." Edward's explanation made shivers go down Craig's spine.


	7. That Could Prove Useful

**Disclaimer**: All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is not meant to make a profit

_That Could Prove Useful…_

The next day passed exceedingly slowly. Craig had finally gone to sleep on the only bed, which he felt quite nasty about, but it was in actuality quite fine and clean. He fell asleep at around two a.m., but no one else in the house slept. He could hardly believe what was going on, but a little better now that he was informed.

The front door kept opening and waking him up. He knew that Bella and Edward would be going to a forest nearby. They had mentioned something about being safer for Craig, but Craig didn't understand it at all.

There was constant activity in the apartment; they must have been preparing for these Volturi. Just the thought of these visitors kept waking him up as well. He might die the next day.

The Cullens had gotten food and other things for him, for which he was happy. At least he wouldn't starve to death in this previously food-less place. Everything was dry, though. Nothing that you would really have to cook. Cereals, granola bars… ugh.

Strangely, he found Edward, Bella, and himself doing their classwork for part of the day, simply to take up time. It seemed that Edward was done with his almost instantaneously; Bella and Craig took longer. Edward explained that he'd done it all many times before. Still, it was incredible.

Craig studied them all. They seemed human enough at the first glance, but the added grace disproved that. They were all quite close to each other, just like a family, but they avoided getting too physically close to him, especially Jasper and Bella. Their eyes seemed a shade darker gold today; they had told him what that meant, and was glad for the space they gave him.

During the mid-afternoon, Alice brought more information about the Volturi seemingly from nowhere. They were apparently on the way, boarding a plane at that very moment. They would arrive early morning, before dawn. After Craig bent to continue working, he vaguely heard her voice, too quiet and fast for him to understand. He looked up, but he couldn't read her lips they were moving so fast. Every one else was obviously paying attention to her, however, frozen in various poses. She must be giving them a "battle plan" for the day to come.

Craig went to bed early, in the late-afternoon. They thought that he should be wide awake when the others arrived. He slept much better this night. The building was silent for the entire night and all of the Cullens seemed sure of success, due to Alice, somehow.

They woke him at three a.m., to make sure he'd be awake and coherent when the Volturi arrived. The apartment was still filled with a calm atmosphere, due to Jasper. At four thirty, Alice went to open the door, and there they were.

"Ah, Carlisle and family. It's been too long," a black-haired man said, who must have been Aro or Marcus. "Yet _still _you have kept your diet," he said, looking sideways at Craig, unsure. "And Bella, I'm happy to see you like this," he implicated, holding out his hand in her direction as if for a handshake. "Interesting… still the same…" he murmured with a small smile. Craig understood none of it.

The Cullens remained unclear of what or even who these Volturi really were. He was frustrated because even with all they had told him, he still hardly understood anything.

"Craig," Rosalie began, surprisingly enough. He turned, shocked, to face her. "Why don't you explain to them why you're here? Why the rest of us came from Forks."

"I… you're all…" he stuttered. "She…" he tried again, indicating Bella, choking on his words. "I… can't," he finally got out, breathing hard. The Volturi were staring dumbfounded, confused as to why Rosalie had asked the idiotic human at all. By his words, he obviously didn't know anything.

"Aro, why don't you shake his hand?" Edward suggested. Aro took deeper meaning of it than Craig had, but Craig warily held out his hand anyway.

Aro's eyes immediately widened on contact. He stood silent for a moment, awed. "Well, that could prove useful," he allowed.

"I won't do anything," Jasper informed somewhat randomly, preparing them for the unknown to come. Unknown even to Craig.

"Don't stop him," Bella told everyone present. "Craig," she directed at him, "let your emotions take control."

_"Get me the hell out of here!"_ Craig screamed, trying to bolt for the door. The buildup of emotions under Bella's calm command was too much, and they exploded into being once she allowed him to feel again.

"Stop. Quiet down, and calm yourself, Craig." Bella reinforced the commands she'd given him so many times before within the last day and a half. Immediately he obeyed. The eyes of the rest of the Volturi were now alighted with understanding.

"And so we have an interesting situation," murmured Marcus, just loud enough to be heard. "Hmm… what shall we do with all of you now?"

"Of course you still have the invitation to come with us back home," Caius remarked with a slight, frightening smile. "Her power could be useful for all sorts of things. Not only for keeping our own human helpers in hand, but for preventing such cases as Edward's about a year ago."

"Yes… very helpful in uncountable ways…" Aro agreed.

"No," Bella stated. "I won't."

"Well this is unfortunate. She can affect us just as well as she can affect others," Marcus complained, no doubt unable to ask it of her again, as she wouldn't consider it.

"As for the human," Aro mused. "I suppose you can keep him, if you wish. It's obvious that he won't say anything. He couldn't even if he tried. Take care of him if you get bored with him." No one needed to question how Aro meant he was to be taken care of. "Or we could take him off of your hands now, if that was what you wished."

"No, we should be fine. We wouldn't handle this in a manner that would go wrong," Carlisle interjected. He ushered them out the door, having found that the Cullens kept their promise and no word would leak out through Craig.

"That went very well, overall," Alice said after they had gone. "At first, everything kept switching around so fast that I wasn't sure at all what would happen."

"So I guess we'll be friends from now on, Craig," Bella said, smiling somewhat wryly at him. "You can return to your dorm room whenever you want, just as you can come here whenever you want. I suggest you give us warning before you return. Just remember, don't tell anyone anything. And we will be making visits."

**A/N: Short chapter, this time. I've been busy lately, I'm going to be one of the Village People for Halloween, and I needed to get the costume ready ;) But now I will really need help. That's all I got as far as plot goes, so please review with suggestions, or this won't go anywhere!**

**Also, this is still in third person and omniscient, but this chapter and the last seemed told by Craig and Craig only. You can probably figure it out for yourself what the Cullens and Volturi were thinking. I didn't really need to add that. I'm hoping to go back to my earlier style in the next chapter, when I can figure out what's going to happen.**

**People found it unbelievable that the Cullens would just tell Craig everything in the last chapter, but now hopefully you see why. I was a little skeptical about that fact as well when I was writing it, I didn't think they would do that, but with Bella's power I allowed it. When Aro saw in Craig's thoughts that he knew everything about vampires and wouldn't say anything simply on Bella's command, he understood the strength of her ability, and thus would allow them to keep Craig alive. Any other form of explanation would let the Cullens get off easy, but Craig might not have been so lucky.**

**I went through and found spelling mistakes, thank you gec for pointing one out to me. I hadn't realized there were so many::must proofread better::**


	8. Don't You Hate Awkward Timings?

**A/N: It's been a LONG while, I'm sorry. I fence on my school's team, and that takes up ALL my time during the winter (November to March), so you wouldn't have heard much of anything from me until the season is over. But the season ends after next week! And the plot line is stuck where it is.**

**PLEASE give me suggestions as to where I can take it, or it won't go anywhere. You never know, the simplest idea may go a long way. ;) As for now, a lemon! Woo!**

**Disclaimer: **All Twilight characters owned by Stephenie Meyer. This is not meant to make a profit.

_Don't You Hate Awkward Timings?_

"Bella, let's do something special for Valentine's Day," Edward suggested, leaning in close and whispering unnecessarily.

Bella turned her face slightly to look at him, interested.

"Besides the occasion, I think you need a distraction," he murmured, kissing her along her jaw.

"Oh really?" she challenged him, raising and eyebrow with a small smile on her lips.

"Yes, actually," he countered, pulling himself closer to her. "There's been a lot going on lately," he kissed her lips once. "You've made a complete change of life," another kiss, "you're studying new things in a new school," another, "and things became a little hectic when Craig came," with yet another kiss. He slowly backed her to a wall, his arms forming a cage around her. "You need some relief from stress," he breathed, barely audible to even their ears.

"Alright," she agreed, a little out of breath. "I'll take you up on your offer," she said, smiling coyly. He gave her a wicked grin, and brought himself even closer to her. Kissing her more deeply and passionately, he pulled her body so that it was tight against his.

---------

Craig hadn't visited his vampire friends in a while, and he figured he'd do so before they decided to pay him a surprise visit. At the end of class, he would walk to their house. He'd been designated as the person to bring her forgotten homework with him (had there been any) anyway, so he could use that as an excuse.

---------

Things were really starting to heat up. Or rather, remain the same, cold temperature, but become more crazed. Moving toward the bedroom, feeling each other anywhere their hands could reach, they were racing toward the bedroom. At least, racing as fast as they could while staggering blindly. And racing with articles of clothing disappearing from their bodies.

But Bella pushed against him before they could get in the room. Edward blinked, confused by her seeming rejection. But Bella winked at him, turning and quickly running to the bathroom. When Edward heard the water in the shower turn on, he bolted into the bathroom as well.

With the rest of their clothes dropping quickly to the floor, Bella kicked the bathroom door almost completely shut. Edward half moaned, half growled into her mouth, truly aroused now. They stepped together into the flow of water, the water's initial cold temperature obviously not having an effect on them.

As the water quickly warmed and became quite hot, they reveled in the amazing effects. The warmth that usually didn't grace their bodies now enveloped them. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, touching at every inch. "Oh, Bella," Edward growled softly between kisses. "This is almost what your body was like when you were human. Only you were softer."

"Really, Edward? Then maybe this was what you were like, as well," she considered. "Although we never had this experience when I was human," she added with a grin against his lips.

As they continued kissing and feeling, the water added its own effects to their intimacy. The intensely hot liquid was running over everything, the steam building and adding to the atmosphere. The water running down their faces and between their lips as they kissed was incredibly sexy, although neither of them could explain exactly why.

Edward had been squeezing her breasts, but now he dropped a hand down to her opening, trailing it along her body. With his pointer and middle finger, he first rubbed along her lips, slowly working inwards. She growled and dropped her own hands from his back where they had been holding Edward to her.

She gripped him firmly, causing him to jump when she did so. And then growl as she pulled and lightly squeezed at him. He pumped his hips slightly, eager. Bella took him and rubbed him against her stomach, down as far as her hair.

Unable to wait any longer, he picked her up with both hands under her bottom and rested her back against the tile wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist to help hold herself up.

Pressed hard against the wall, shifting and straining, they were almost afraid of breaking the tile or even the wall underneath the tile. They soon had to shift to the corner in the shower, for a sturdier support. After a while of pumping, they came, both completely satisfied.

Contented, they kissed tenderly. They cleaned themselves off quickly, as they were in the shower. After they were finished in the shower, Edward took Bella's hand and led her into the bedroom. There they cuddle for a short while, but were kissing again soon enough.

Things were slower this time; more intimate. They moved together in a rhythm, almost predicting what the other wanted. It was slow, but passionate. Edward fondled her slowly, moving his fingers in a circular motion. They began to unhurriedly move against each other, until they shifted into position. Edward shifted himself down between her legs, pumped his hips a few times, and then completely stopped, shocked.

"Oh no," Edward breathed. "Why right now?"

---------

Craig opened the front door, as it was never locked, and walked in slowly. "Cullens?" he called out, expecting them to meet him at the door. But he had a strange feeling of unease. He started to feel REALLY awkward when he spotted a few articles of clothing on the floor leading towards the back of the apartment, but the broken lamp intrigued him. The apartment was quite warm.

Before he could move, Edward's voice came from the back of the apartment. "Not right now, Craig! PLEASE!" He sounded breathless.

Bella's fingers were all over Edward's face. She was periodically and silently kissing his face anywhere she could, and constantly shifting her body beneath his. He couldn't catch his breath.

"_Please_, Craig, come back any other time! Just remember to call first, give us some warning," he forced out. But then…

"Edward," Bella breathed as a whisper in his ear, her fingers lightly stroking his cheek. "Edward…" Even quieter this time.

He turned his face to her, gently nudging her cheek with his nose. "Shh, Bella."

"Come, Edward," she Commanded, gently biting his earlobe.

His eyes instantly widened as all of his muscles tightened, obeying her. He couldn't help but cry out loudly, all his muscles taught and twitching.

Craig had only been aware of Edward telling him to leave, and not Bella's whisperings to Edward, but when he heard Edward cry out in such a fashion he freaked. He had been quite sure of what they were doing, but did they have to continue when they knew he was there?!? That was just nasty. He turned and fled from the apartment as fast as possible.

Edward sighed after things had calmed down. "Now why did you have to do that?" he asked Bella. But she only laughed.

"We're alone again, aren't we?" she inquired as she pulled him closer to her.


End file.
